HOWTb 
PRODUCE 

EXTRACTED 
HONEY 


PublishedBy 

The  a  I  Koot  Company 

A\EDINA,0  USA. 


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The  Best  Book 
For  Beginners 

OUR  A  B  C  OF  BEE  CULTURE  was 
written  especially  for  beq-inners. 
It  is  arrang^ed  in  the  form  of  an 
encyclopedia,  so  that  any  information 
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ginners—a// can  be  benefited  by  its  study.'" 

Jxo.  A.  Bock,  Farmington,  W.  Va. 

"Whenever  I  come  across  a  bee-keeper  who  wishes 
to  study  up  upon  the  rudiments  of  bee-keeping  I 
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PI 

The  auth 
Phillips,  is 
of  years  he 
Jamaica,  pre 
consulted  t'. 
producers,  a 
methods  in  j 

,    April,  190 


This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated 
below  and  is  subject  to  an  overdue 
fine  as  posted  at  the  circulation  desk. 


EXCEPTION:  Date  due  will  be 
earlier  if  this  item  is  RECALLED. 


How  to  Produce 
Extracted  Honey 


I.— PREPARING  COLONIES  FOR  THE  FLOW. 

To  produce  Iioncy  one  must  have  a  big  force  of  bees. 
The  honc.v-productiveness  of  an  apiary  is  not  to  be 
measured  by  the  number  of  colonies  it  contains,  but 
by  the  number  of  bees  in  the  individual  colony.  There- 
fore the  only  way  to  achieve  the  best  results  in  honey 
is  to  see  that  each  colony  is  in  good  working  order 
by  the  time  the  flow  opens.  To  do  so  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  examine  each  separatel\-  in  order  to  ascertain 
its  condition.  Special  attenticjn  must  be  given  to  each 
queen.  Every  one  that  is  in  any  way  defective  should 
be  replaced  with  another  that  is  young  and  vigorous. 
It  will  never  do  to  hang  on  to  a  queen  whose  prolific- 
ness  is  doubtful.  The  colony  which  she  occupies  will 
yield  Aery  little  surplus,  or,  in  all  probability,  no  honey 
at  all.  Far  better  to  replace  her,  c\en  if  >ou  have  to 
bu}-  another   in   order  to  do  so. 

The  ne.xt  thing  that  must  be  taken  notice  of  is  the 
strength  of  each  colony.  If  the  flow  be  a  month  or 
si.\-  weeks  ahead,  and  your  weak  stocks  have  young 
prolific  queens,  you  may  make  an  effort  to  build  them 
up  to  full  strength  in  time  for  it;  but  if  it  be  near  at 
hand,  a  better  wav  is  to  unite  them. 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    3 

In  some  localities  the  flow  proper  is  preceded  by  a 
light  flow  from  some  other  source,  while  in  others 
there  is  a  dearth  of  hone}^  until  the  opening  of  the 
harvest.  Where  the  former  is  the  case,  the  bees  will 
make  good  progress  in  brood-rearing,  and  the  colonies 
consequently  build  up  nicely  to  meet  the  general  harvest. 
In  case  of  the  latter,  the  bees  will  be  in  the  poorest 
kind  of  condition  v>hen  the  flow  commences.  To 
prevent  this  they  should  be  given  stimulative  feeding. 
This  will  bring  about  the  same  conditions  as  would 
a  natural  flow.  Every  colony  in  your  apiary  should  be 
in  good,  prosperous  condition  by  the  time  the  harvest 
commences ;  and  to  have  them  so  it  may  be  necessary 
to  requeen,  unite,  and  stimulate. 


What  kind  of  hive  to  use  for  producing  ex- 
tracted honey. — For  localities  where  the  honey- 
flow  is  short  and  uncertain,  we  recommend  the  Danzen- 
baker  or  eight- frame  Langstroth ;  but  where  the  flow 
is    heavy   and   protracted   the    ten-frame    Langstroth    or 


4    HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

the  Jumbo  will  give  better  results,  as  the  queen  has 
more  comb  surface  to  lay  in,  and  a  correspondingly 
larger  force  of  workers  can  be  reared. 

2.— SUPERING.  '» 

We  will  assume  that  j'ou  have  succeeded  in  getting 
3'our  colonies  into  good  order  for  the  honey-flow.  The 
next  thing  to  do  is  to  put  on  supers.  Many  make  the 
fatal  mistake  of  waiting  till  the  last  minute  before  pur- 
chasing their  supplies.  It  is  folly  to  go  to  the  ex- 
pense and  trouble  of  establishing  an  apiary,  and  liien 
when  the  time  arrives  for  one  to  reap  the  rewards 
of  his  labor  to  Jose  it  all  simply  on  account  of  pro- 
crastination. Long  before  the  harvest  opens,  supers 
should  be  put  together  and  painted,  frames  nailed  and 
wired,  and  foundation  put  in,  etc. ;  for  honey-flows  wait 
for  no  man.  Unless  this  be  done  you  are  sure  to  be  the 
loser,  and  you  will  soon  be  mortified  to  see  the  bees 
stick  honey-comb  in  every  available  corner  of  the  hive 
ajul  your  honey  crop  go  to  waste.  Take  time  by  the 
forelock  and  get  your  supplies   in  readiness. 

When  to  super. — Don't  put  on  your  supers  before 
the  bees  are  ready  for  them,  as  you  gain  nothing  by 
doing  so,  but  only  render  it  harder  for  the  bees  to 
keep  up  the  necessary  heat.  This  must  be  especially 
heeded  in  cold  climates.  Neither  delay  it  too  long, 
and  thus  waste  time.  As  soon  as  you  see  indications 
of  honey  coming  in  from  natural  sources  in  such  quan- 
tities that  the  tops  of  combs  in  the  brood-nest  begin 
to  whiten,  you  may  conclude  it  is  time  for  you  to  put 
on  supers.  The  propensity  of  Italian  bees  is  to  store 
honey  in  the  brood-nest,  in  some  localities  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  brood.    We  have  seen  colonies  whose  brood- 


HOir  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    5 

nests  were  packed  almost  to  the  total  exclusion  of  brood, 
while  little  or  no  work  was  done  in  the  supers.  It  is 
advisable  in  such  cases  to  keep  "swapping"  combs  with 
the  supers.  This  "swapping"  serves  a  twofold  pur- 
pose; viz.,  the  full  combs  placed  in  the  super  act  as  a 
bait  to  induce  the  bees  to  enter,  while  the  empty  combs, 
or,  better  still,  frames  of  foundation,  given  below,  give 
the  queen  an  opportunity  to  lay.  When  the  bees  get 
well  started  in  the  upper  stories,  do  as  little  handling  as 
.is  consistent  with  the  successful  management  of  the 
colony,  as,  every  time  you  pull  it  to  pieces,  the  bees 
are  hindered  in  ihcir  work  and  honey  is  lost. 

There  are  many  who  ad^'ocate  the  non-use  of  the 
queen-excluding  honey-board;  but  we  strongly  advise  its 
use  in  connection  with  the  production  of  extracted  honey. 
If  it  is  not  used,  the  queen  will  soon  make  her  quarters 
in  the  upper  story,  and,  instead  of  nice  white  combs 
of  honey,  you  will  have  a  mixture  of  brood  (in  all 
stages  of  growth  from  the  hatching  bee  down  to  the 
egg),  pollen,  drones,  and  possibly  queen-cells.  Instead 
of  being  nicely  and  exL-nly  sealed,  the  combs  will 
always  contain  (as  long  as  the  queen  remains)  un- 
sealed honey  and  brood — a  very  unpleasant  feature  in 
extracting  time.  Second,  your  queen  will  be  in  a  most 
dangerous  position,  and  will  stand  a  chance  of  being 
killed  every  time  you  handle  those  big  unwieldly  ex- 
tracting-combs.  Third,  there  can  be  no  certainty  as  to 
her  whereabouts;  and  when,  as  in  the  case  of  swarm- 
ing, it  is  necessary  to  find  her,  there  are  so  many  more 
combs  to  be  looked  over.  The  same  is  true  with  reference 
to  the  finding  of  queen-cells.  Fourth,  it  almost  makes 
it  impossible  for  one  to  use  that  great  labor-saver,  the 
bee-escape,   and  renders   it  an  absolute  necessity  to  re- 


6    HOJ\'  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HOXEY. 


FLATTED    WOOD-ZINC    HONEV-HOAKD. 


move  the  combs  from  the  supers  and  brush  the  bees 
off  them  one  by  one.  We  recollect  seeing  on  one  oc- 
casion, when  in  the  height  of  extracting,  a  queen  and 
her  attendants  placidly  located  on  a  large  honey-comb, 
apparently  taking  in  the  situation.  Her  colony  had  had 
on  no  honey-board,  and  she  was  in  the  super  when  the 
escape  was  put  on.  It  was  next  to  impossible  for  ns 
to  tell  what  hive  she  belonged  to,  and  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding entailed  extra  work  and  worry.  Put  a  honey- 
board    on    each    bottom    story,    and    thus    confine    the 


HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    7 

queen   and   attendant   brood-rearing   conditions   to   their 
own  department — the  brood-nest. 

As  soon  as  the  first  super  is  filled  and  the  process 
of  sealing  is  begun,  put  on  a  second  one.  To  do  this, 
lift  the  one  nearly  completed ;  place  the  empty  one  on 
the  brood-nest,  and  put  on  top  the  one  nearly  com- 
pleted. The  colony  will  then  occupy  a  hive  of  three 
stories.  Always  put  the  empty  super  nearest  the 
brood-nest,  as  the  bees  will  start  to  work  in  it  more 
readily;  and  ^•v•h.■"n  they  do  start  it  will  be  near  at 
hand,  and  the}-  \vill  haw  but  a  short  distance  to  travel. 
After  the  first  extraction,  condjs  can  be  used  in  these 
empty  supers,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  filling  and 
sealing  of  them  is  done  much  more  rapidly  than  Avlien 
starters,  or  even  full  sheets  of  foundation,  are  used. 

We  have  said  before  that,  for  some  localities,  the 
eight-frame  Langstroth  or  Danzenbaker,  and  for  others 
the  ten-frame  Langstroth  or  the  Jumbo  hive,  is  prefer- 
able. In  rlie  brood-nest  the  full  anionnl  of  frames  can 
be  used;  but  in  the  supers,  where  it  is  desirable  to 
have  thick  combs,  wide  spacing  may  be  done  to  ad- 
vantage. Give  seven  frames  in  the  eight-frame  super 
and  eight  frames  in  the  ten-frame.  See  that  your  spac- 
ing is  done  regularly,  for  if  it  is  not,  a  portion  of  the 
combs  will  be  no  thicker  than  the  ordinary  brood- 
comb;  others  will  1)e  veritable  slabs  of  honey,  and  not 
infrequently  natural  comb  will  be  built  between  them. 
Now,  don't  get  hold  of  the  idea  that,  in  order  to  do 
wide  spacing,  loose  frames  will  be  necessary.  The 
regular  self-spacing  Hoffman  is  the  best  under  all  con- 
ditions. No  beginner  should  for  one  moment  enter- 
tain the  though  of  using  loose  frames.  We  are  aware 
that  this  style  of  frame  is  used  and   recommended  by 


S    HOJy  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HOSEY 


HOFFMAN  FRAMES. 


some  of  our  oldest  bee-keepers;  but  in  our  opinion  the 
Hoffman  is  so  far  superior  that,  could  our  old  friends 
be  onh^  induced  to  give  it  a  fair  trial,  the  former  would 
soon   be    converted    into    kindling. 

In  some  localities  bees  do  their  swarming  before,  in 
some  during,  and  in  some  after,  the  honey-flow.  In 
the  latter  case  it  is  not  as  detrimental  as  in  the  two 
former;  but  in  any  case,  swarming  is  a  hindrance  to 
the  best  results  in  honey-production.  Bees  which  should 
be  working  with  concentrated  energy  in  one  hive, 
divided  into  half  a  dozen  diminutive  swarms,  in  most 
cases  are  of  no  use  to  themselves  or  the  bee-keeper 
so  far  as  honey-production  is  concerned;  and  the 
supers,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  well  filled, 
are  almost  entirely  depleted  of  what  they  may  already 


HOIV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    9 

contain    in    order    to    supply    provender    for    the    new 
sv/arms. 

Now  it  will  be  seen  that,  in  order  to  get  good  results, 
swarming  must  be  kept  under  control,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  colony  must  be  kept  strong.  This  may  be  ac- 
complished by  using  the  "shook"  or  brushed-swarm 
system.  This,  briefly  explained,  is  as  follows :  xA.s 
soon  as  a  colony  swarms,  or  shows  symptoms  of  swarm- 
ing, take  away  the  brood-nest  and  substitute  another 
with  frames  of  foundation  instead,  putting  the 
honey-buard  and  supers  of  the  same,  if  the  colony 
had  these  on  originally.  Now  sliake  the  bees  from  the 
old  brood-nest  in  fiont  of  the  entrance  of  the  new  one. 
(Make  sure  that  the  queen  runs  in  along  with  the  rest; 
for,  if  she  is  missing,  the  colony  will  be  hopelessly 
queenless.)  The  bees  will  then  go  right  to  work,-  fiX 
up  their  new  brood-nest,  and  the  storing  of  honey  will 
be  continued  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  Never 
give  the  shook  swarm  any  brood  whatever.  The  frames 
of  brood  from  the  old  brood-nest  may  be  distributed 
among  weak  colonies ;  or  they  may  be  left  near  the  old 
stand  with  a  few  bees  to  take  care  of  that  which  is 
unsealed,  the  entrance  of  the  hive  containing  them 
turned  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  which  it  origi- 
nally faced.  At  the  end  of  three  weeks  (at  which  time 
all  the  brood  will  have  hatched)  the  bees  may  be 
dumped  in  front  of  the  old  stand  and  made  to  unite 
with  the  bees  first  shaken. 

The  following  is  another  good  plan  for  controlling 
swarming :  Remove  the  brood-nest  of  the  colony  that 
is  expected  to  cast  a  swarm,  and  place  its  upper  story 
or  stories  on  a  bottom-board  in  its  place.  Put  the  re- 
moved    brood-nest     immediatelv  behind     the     stand     it 


10    HOll'  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

formerly  occupied,  and  now  occupied  by  the  upper 
stories,  turning  its  entrance  in  the  opposite  direction. 
The  bees  of  working  age,  not  knowing  of  the  change, 


FRAME  OF  SEALED  HONKV. 

will    return    to    the    old    location.      Thus    we    shall    get 
the  wovkcrs  just  where  they  are  wanted— in  the  honey- 


HOIV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY,     ir 

apartment ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  strength  of  the 
brood-nest  proper  will  be  so  reduced  that  all  ideas  of 
swarming  will  be  given  up,  and  in  most  cases  the  bees 
will  destroy  all  queen-cells  already  started.  In  eighf 
days  the  brood-nest  can  be  returned  to  its  former  posi- 
tion and  the  supers  placed  on  top.  In  many  instances 
no  further  idea  of  swarming  will  be  contemplated. 
During  the  time  that  the  colony  is  divided,  a  laying 
queen  should  be  caged  in  the  queenless  portion,  in 
order  to  keep  the  bees  quiet. 

3.— TAKING  HONEY  OFF  THE  HIVES. 

We  will  assume  that  you  have  been  so  far  successful 
— that    you    have    succeeded    in    getting    3^our    colonies 


THE 

COGGSH.-V.LL 
BEE-BRCSH. 


THE 
DIXIE    EEE- 
t  BRUSH. 


in   good    condition    for   the   tiow ;    have   kept    swarming 
well    under    control;    have    done    your    supering    judi- 


12    HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

ciously,  and  now  your  attention  must  be  turned  to 
extracting.  Look  over  all  of  your  upper  stories,  and 
mark  those  which  contain  sealed  honey.  Bee-keepers, 
especially  beginners,  often  like  to  "rush"  matters,  and 
extract  honey  that  is  unsealed.  If  you  do  this  you 
will  be  making  one  of  the  worst  moves  possible  to  the 
bee  business ;  and  such  an  action  will  in  all  probability 
react  against  you  individually,  ruining  your  standing 
with  the  wholesale  honey-dealer,  as  well  as  with  your 
local  trade. 


COMB-BUCKET. 

It  is  not  always  necessary  to  wait  until  the  end  of  the 
flow  before  extracting.  It  is  sometimes  advantageous 
to  extract  all  ripe  honey  before,  as  there  will  be  no  rob- 
bers to  contend  with,  and  the  combs  extracted  will  come 
in  handy  for  putting  on  again  and  getting  refilled.  As 
long  as  the  flow  lasts,  extract  only  that  which  is  well 
sealed,  leaving  on  the  partly  sealed  combs  until  after 
the  flow,  in  order  to  get  the  honey  in  them  ripened 
as  much  as  possible.  We  may  mention  here  that  some 
large    extracted-honcy    producers    prefer    to    leave    all 


HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.     13 

honey  on  the  hives  as  long  as  possible,  claiming  that 
by  so  doing,  they  get  a  much  thicker  and  better  grade. 
While  this  will  insure  a  very  fine  article  to  the  dis- 
criminating connoisseur,  yet  it  is  not  enough  better  so 
that  the  public  will  pay  more  for  it.  When  the  flow  is 
over,  and  all  the  honey  is  removed,  the  combs  should 
be  carefully  sorted,  all  the  unripe  honey  extracted  by 
itself,  and  used  for  feeding,  or  sold  for  manufacturing 
or  any  other  purpose  where  sugar  syrup  would  be  used ; 
but  it  should  never  be  sold  for  a  table  honey. 

How  to  remove  the  bees  from  the  super. — Some 
practice  remo\-ing-  the  full  supers,  bumping  them  around 
on  the  ground,  thus  jarring  the  bees  and  causing  them 
to  fall  from  the  combs.  This  is  far  from  being  a  good 
plan,  as  bees  are  killed,  heavy  combs  of  honey  are 
broken    down,   the   frames   themselves   are  broken,    and 


Porter  bee-escape,  showing  springs. 


robbers  soon  make  themselves  heard  and  felt.  Others 
practice  getting  the  bees  from  the  supers  by  smoking 
between  the  combs.  This  is  another  poor  way  of  doing 
it.  Imagine  the  excitement  caused  by  the  excess  of 
smoke  necessary  in  order  to  be  effective — so  much, 
indeed,  as  to  cause  "unbidden  tears"  to  flow  from  the 
eyes  of  the  operator.  The  colony  sometimes  gets  so 
excited    as    to    ball    its    own    queen,    and    becomes    so 


14    HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY 

demoralized  that  it  yields  itself  a  prey  to  the  first  at- 
tack of  robber-bees.  Again,  the  quality  of  the  honey 
taken  from  the  hives  is  sometimes  slightly  injured  on 
account  of  being  tainted  with  the  smell  and  taste  of 
smoke. 


Porter  bee-escape  on  board  in  position  for  use. 

Another  way  to  get  bees  from  the  combs,  and  one 
which  is  better  than  either  of  those  given  above,  is  to 
brush  them  off  comb  by  comb.  For  doing  this,  either  the 
Coggshall  or  the  Dixie  brush  will  be  the  right  kind 
to  use.  Have  a  couple  of  empty  hive-bodies  sitting 
on  a  wheelbarrow  or  cart  close  at  hand.  Give  a  little 
smoke;  lift  the  super  off  and  brush  the  bees  in  front 
of  the  hive,  putting  the  combs  of  honey  into  one  of 
the  hive-bodies.  Even  this  method  is  anything  but 
desirable.  Be  careful  as  you  will,  robbers  will  put  their 
noses  in,  and,  before  long,  their  tongues  and  stings, 
too.  Besides,  there  is  nothing  that  aggravates  the  bees 
more  than  being  brushed,  and  they  will  demonstrate 
their  feelings  in  the  most  effective  way.  There  is  only 
one  satisfactory  method  of  getting  bees  out  of  the 
supers,  and  that  is  by  escaping.  Space  forbids  our 
describing  the  several  kinds  of  escapes.  The  mention 
of  the  one  we  use  and  recommend  will  be  sufficient. 
This  is  known  as  the  Porter,  and  is  used  in  connection 
with  a  l)oard  as  illustrated.     Place  this  on  beneath  the 


HOJJ'  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.     15 

super  you  wish  to  get  the  bees  out  of  late  in  the  after- 
noon, and  by  the  next  morning  it  will  be  found  practi- 
cally free  of  bees.  The  advantages  derived  from  the  use 
of  the  .escape  are  apparent.  There  is  no  brushing  nor 
shaking,  no  stinging,  no  robbing,  and  no  smoking. 
Hundreds  of  pounds  of  hone}'  may  be  remo\'cd  from  tlic 
hives  without  receiving  a  sting  or  using  a  whiff  of 
smoke.  Where  a  colony  has  on  one  super  onh^,  and  it 
is  desirable  to  remove  it,  don't  put  the  escape  on  top 
of  the  honey-board  and  escape  the  bees  into  the  brood- 
nest,  but  put  an  empty  super  between  and  the  cscane 
on  top  C'f  it. 

Sometimes  the  sprjnrjs  in  a  Porter  bee-escape  get 
propolized,  and  stick  so  that  the  bees  can  not  get- 
through.  When  this  is  the  case,  rcmo^'e  it  from  t!ie 
board  and  place  it  for  a  few  minutes  in  a  kettle  of  boil- 
ing water.  This  will  remove  the  propolis,  and  make 
it  workable  again. 

After  taking  your  supers  of  ripe  honey  off  the  hives, 
remove  the  escape-boards  also,  and  put  on  the  covers. 
Then  place  the  sui)ers  ow  a  \vheclbarrow,  or  some  other 
handy  device,  and  remo\e  them  to  the  honey-house  and 
stack  them  up  neatly.  Before  we  proceed  to  deal  with 
the  next  step — extracting — we  will  give  a  few  hints  on 


4.— FIXING    UP    THE    HONEY-HOUSE    FOR 
EXTRACTING. 

The  first  requisite  is  a  bee-tight  house,  having  wire- 
cloth  screens  with  Porter  honey-house  bee-escapes  oti 
the  windows  and  doors.  Whatever  bees  intrude  when 
the  supers  are  being  carried  in  will  soon  make  for  the 
light,  and  eventually  get  out  through  the  escapes.     For 


'r6    HOJP'  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

a  little  while  after  commencing  to  extract,  robbers,  at- 
tracted by  the  smell  of  the  honey  inside,  will  loaf 
around;  but,  finding  no  means  of  ingress,  they  will 
soon  cease  their  futile  attemps  to  enter,  and  turn  their 
attention   to   some   more  profitable  and   honest  employ- 


ITlf 


"^^^ll 


# 


:.^m 


Escape  in  iJOsitioTi  on  honey  house  window. 

nicnt.  One  who  does  not  own  a  bee-tight  honey-house 
must  do  his  extracting  at  night,  covering  up  everything 
snugly  when  he  gets  through.  If  not,  bees  will  take 
possession  of  the  house  the  next  morning,  and  get 
into  everything  that  contains  honey,  and  he  will  find  it 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    17 


Reel  of  four-frame  reversible  Cowan  extractor. 


almost   impossible   to    drive   them   out    and    restore    the 
normal  conditions  of  quiet. 

Well,  presuming  that  your  bee-house  is  in  good  order, 
and  that  the  windows  and  doors  are  all  nicely  fixed  up 
with  Porter  honey-house  escapes,  the  necessary  inside 
fixtures,  for  an  apiary  of  about  100  colonies,  will  be — 
an  extractor,  two  tanks  (one  for  light  and  one  for 
dark  honey),  an  uncapping-can,  two  honey-knives,  and 
two  stout  pails.  Extractors  are  made  in  different  sizes 
— from  two  to  six  frames.  For  an  apiary  of  the  size 
mentioned  above,  or  smaller,  a  two-frame  Cowan  re- 
versible will  do  nicely;  but  if  you  contemplate  going 
into  the  business  to  any  greater  extent,  we  advise  you 


i8    HOir  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HOKEV 

to  buy  one  of  the  larger  sizes.  These  are  set  on  ball- 
bearings, and  the  pockets  are  connected  with  a  chain 
and  sprockets,  so  that  reversing  one  reverses  all.  IMake 
a  strong  platform  about  2^  feet  high  for  your  extractor 
to  rest  on,  and  fasten  the  same  to  it  by  means  of  the 
lugs  at  the  bottom.  Screws  for  doing  this  are  supplied 
with  each  extractor.  In  addition  to  these,  a  pair  of 
stay-rods  and  screw-hooks  with  each  of  the  four-frame 
machines  are  furnished.  Screw  the  hooks  in  the  stand 
on  each  side  of  the  extractor;  attach  the  stay-rods  to 
them  at  one  end  and  to  the  handles  of  the  extractor  on 
the  other,  and  screw  the  turn-buckle  until  the  desired 
tension  is  reached — don't  overdo  it.  Oil  tlic  ports  of 
your  extractor  every  time  it  is  to  be  used.  We  have 
visited  apiaries  in  California  in  which  the  ])arts  of  ex- 
tractors had  literally  worn  out  for  want  of  lubrication. 

Tanks. — Large  casks  with  a  faucet  in  the  bottom 
of  each  might  be  used;  but  these  give  more  or  less 
trouble  from  leaking;  especially  is  this  the  case  in  warm" 
climates.  In  dry  climates  like  that  in  Colorado  or 
California  they  could  not  be  used  at  all.  Large  gal- 
vanized-iron  tanks  with  suitable  honey-gates  will  be 
more  satisfactory  in  all  places.  We  don't  keep  these 
in  stock,  but  can  make  them  to  order  of  any  given 
size.  Put  in  two  tanks  or  from  80  to  100  gallons 
capacity  in  a  convenient  position  in  the  honey-house 
on  stands  like  that  upon  which  we  advised  you  :o 
mount  your  extractor.  These  are  for  storing  and  set- 
tling the  honey,  and  obviate,  to  a  great  extent,  the  dis- 
agreeable necessity  of  straining. 

Honey-knives. — These  are  used  for  cutting  the 
cappings  off  the  honey-combs.  See  that  they  have  a  keen 
edge,  such  as  would  be  given  by  a  very  fine  whetstone. 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    19 


'''\.-^'''/0^^:'-:;''§^ 


Bingham  uncapping-knife. 

and  are  thoroughly  clean  before  commencing  opera- 
tions. The  Bingham  knife  is  the  one  we  recommend 
for  heavy  extracting.  Some  advise  using  the  knives 
hot.  This  is  done  by  keeping  one  in  water  slightly 
warmer  than  luke-warm  on  a  small  oil-stove  near  by 
while  the  other  is  in  use.  Others  object  to  this  on  th"fe 
ground  that  it  entails  more  trouble,  and  the  knife,  if 
it  gets  too  hot,  melts  the  cappings  and  makes  a  mess, 
the  wax  congealing  on  the  edges  and  rendering  it  hard 
to  use.  Whether  the  knives  shall  be  heated  in  water 
or  not  will  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  honey. 
In  California  we  have  used  the  heated  knife,  as  the 
honey  is  so  thick. 

Pails, — These  are  for  taking  the  honey  from  the 
extractor,  and  pouring  into  the  tanks  for  settling.  Thej' 
should  be  of  good,  stout  material,  and  have  handles 
•capable  of  bearing  the  necessary  strain. 

5.— EXTRACTING. 

In  order  to  do  the  work  expeditiously,  not  less  than 
two  people  should  attempt  it — one  to  do  the  uncapping 
and  the  other  to  extract.  Take  the  comb  from  the 
super  and  place  it  on  the  frame  on  top  of  the  uncap- 
ping-can.  The  projecting  screw-point  in  the  frame 
will  absolutely  prevent  any  slipping,  and  act  as  a 
pivot  upon  which  the  frame  can  readily  be  turned  from 
side  to  side.     In  commencing  the  operation  the  top  of 


20    HOIV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

the  frame  should  lean  as  much  to  the  left  of  the  perpen- 
dicular as  it  does  to  the  right  in  the  illustration.  Gradu- 
ally tip  it  over  to  the  right  as  the  flakes  of  cappings 
begin  to  peel  off.     This   will  prevent  their  sticking  to 


The   Dadant    Uncapping-can. 

the  comb  and  having  to  be  scraped  off.  As  is  shown  in 
the  illustration,  the  knife  should  begin  at  the  bottom 
and  work  upward.    The  fewer  bits  of  cappings  you  get 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    21 

on  the  surface  of  comb  uncapped,  the  cleaner  the  honey 
extracted  will  be.  In  uncapping  combs,  don't  try  to 
press  the  knife  along  through  the  cappings,  but  pro- 
ceed with  a  forward  and  backward  motion,  the  same  as 
if  you  were  using  a  saw.  Don't  be  content  to  peel  off 
the  cappings  a  little  at  a  time,  but  make  a  practice  of 
uncapping  as  wide  a  surface  as  you  can;  and  if  you 
practice  in  this  Avay,  ere  long  you  will  be  able  to  take 
off  the  entire  surface  of  a  fully  sealed  comb  without 
once  removing  your  knife.  It  is  now  that  the  advantage 
of  wide  spacing  will  be  seen.  The  combs  that  have 
been  widely  spaced  being  thick,  it  will  be  both  easy  and 
pleasurable  to   uncap  them. 

How  deep  should  we  cut  in  removing  the  cappings? 
You  will  find  it  difficult  trying  to  remove  the  bare  cap- 
pings. Cut  a  little  below  them.  If  the  combs  have  been 
spaced  as  recommended  before  in  this,  you  may  cut  al- 
most even  with  the  top-bars.  If  they  are  thin,  you  w^iil 
not  be  able  to  cut  as  deep,  but  any  way,  you  should 
remove  enough  comb  to  hold  the  cappings  together. 

Don't  extract  with  the  pockets  of  the  extractor  hang- 
ing in  such  a  manner  that  their  ends  come  together 
(see  illustration  of  wrong  position),  neither  attempt  to 
extract  one  conib  at  a  time.  In  either  case  the  extractor 
will  bump  and  jolt  in  a  miserable  fashion.  Put  a  comb 
in  each  pocket  and  see  that  they  are  exactly  opposite 
each  other.  A  few  revolutions  will  be  sufficient  ^o 
throw  out  the  honey  from  one  side  of  each.  After  this 
is  done,  reverse  the  pockets  so  that  the  sides  of  the 
combs  full  of  honey  come  toward  the  side  of  the  ex- 
tractor, and  turn  again.  With  a  little  practice  the  re- 
versing can  be  accomplished  without  stopping  the  ex- 
tractor, merely  slowing  it  down.     As  soon  as  the  combs 


22    HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 


Two-fraine  reversible  Cowan.     Pockets  in  wrong  position. 


are  extracted,  pack  them  in  an  empty  hive-body  in  a 
corner  of  the  honey-house  where  they  will  be  out  of 
the  way  till  evening.  The  reason  for  this  will  be  ex- 
plained a  little  further  on. 

The  directions  given  here  are  for  a  two-frame  Cowan 
extractor.  In  a  Novice  the  combs  and  not  the  pockets 
are  reversed ;  and  in  a  four  or  six  frame  Cowan  the 
chain  gear  keeps  the  pockets  always  in  a  right  position 
toward  each  other.  These  big  machines  can  also  be 
reversed  without  stopping. 

Keep  the  honey-gate  of  the  extractor  closed  until 
the  honey  extracted  reaches  nearly  to  the  bottom  of  the 
pockets,   and   then   draw  it  off  and   throw   it   into  the 


HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    23 


Two- frame  reversible  Cowan.     Pockets  in  right  position. 


tanks.  Don't  attempt  to  strain  it  before  putting  it  in,  as 
this  only  entails  additional  and  unnecessary  work. 
Honey  should  always  be  allowed  to  get  high  enough  to 
lubricate  the  bottom  pivot  of  the  extractor  reel ;  otb.er- 
wise  this  part  should  jje  oiled  like  the  rest. 

If  you  attempt  to  put  the  extracted  combs  on  hives  as 
soon  as  the  honey  is  taken  from  them  you  will  find 
that  the  bees  will  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
enter  the  house  every  time  the  door  is  opened,  and  soon 
they  will  make  the  job  of  extracting  very  unpleasant  for 
you.  Besides  this  the  combs  put  on  will,  in  all  like- 
lihood, incite  robbing,  and  you  will  thus  have  two  jobs 
on  your  hands  at  once.  We  advise  putting  on  extracted 
combs   in   the  evenings,   as   the  bees  will   have  time  to 


24    HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

clean  them  during  the  night,  and  by  morning  the  chances 
of  robbing  will  be  very  remote. 

If  you  have  to  do  several  extractings  within  a  few 
days  of  each  other,  don't  put  the  fresh  cappings  on  top 
or  that  which  is  half  drained;  but  before  you  begin  to 
uncap,  remove  them  from  the  uncapping-can  and  pat 
them  in  a  receptacle  of  some  sort  (one  that  won't  leak)  ; 
and  when  you  are  through  with  extracting  the  honey  you 
have  on  hand,  put  them  back  in  the  can  on  top  of  the 
fresh  lot.  The  honey  must  be  drawn  from  the  uncap 
ping-can  before  it  gets  too  full,  and  treated  the  same 
as  that  removed  from  the  extractor,  and  the  cappings 
rendered  into  wax  when  sufficiently  dry. 


6.— PACKAGES  FOR  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

Now  we  have  got  our  honey  extracted  and  put  into 
the  storage-tanks,  and  the  next  thing  that  confronts 
us  is  to  put  it  into  suitable  packages  for  market.  But 
you  may  ask,  "What  is  the  necessity  for  putting  the 
honey  into  tanks?  Why  not  strain  from  the  extractor 
and  uncapping-can  directly  to  the  vessels  in  which  it 
is  to  be  sold?"  Well,  you  will  be  better  able  to  grade 
honey  by  putting  it  into  tanks,  but  we  advise  using 
them  chiefly  as  a  means  of  settling  the  honey.  You 
must  remember  that  this,  when  taken  from  the  extractor, 
contains  particles  of  comb  and  other  foreign  substances. 
If  you  attempt  to  strain  it  then,  you  will  find  it  a  slow 
and  tedious  job;  but  twenty-four  hours  after  remain- 
ing in  the  tanks  the  honey  will  precipitate,  being  of 
greater  density,  and  the  substances  that  are  of  lighter 
consistency  will  rise  to  the  top.  It  can  be  then  drawn 
oflf  at  the  bottom  without  straining,  although,  to  make 


HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    25 


assurance  doubly  sure,  it  may  be  well  to  let  it  pass 
through  a  cheese-cloth  strainer.  This  should  be  placed, 
not  over  the  honey-gate,  but  into  the  hole  in  the  honey- 
receptacle.  If  the  honey  be  allowed  to  settle  for  some 
thirty-six  hours,  it  will  be  quite  clean,  and  the  strainer 


Glass  Packages  for  Honey. 

will  not  get  foul.  Of  course,  it  should  be  drawn  to 
within  only  about  an  inch  of  the  honey-gate;  if  lower 
than  this,  straining  will  be  an  absolute  necessity. 

For  local  retail  trade,  honey-jars,  tumblers,  and 
Aikin's  paraffined  paper  bags  can  be  used  (the  latter  for 
candied  honey)  ;  but  for  shipping  to  the  wholesale  dealer 
or  commission  man,  barrels  of  five-gallon  tins  should 
be  used.  In  dry  climates  the  wooden  receptacles  should 
never  be  used. 

In  procuring  honey-packages,  every  precaution  should 
be  exercised  to  see  that  they  are  clean  and  sound.  You 
may  pick  up  second-hand  barrels  and  tins  at  half-price 
very  often,  but  you  will,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  find 
it  more  profitable  to  use  a  good  new  article.    Our  honey- 


>6    HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY 


clerk  has  just  informed  us  that  the  quality  of  what  was 
a  truly  fine  article  of  clover  honey  just  received  has 
been  seriously  damaged  by  being  shipped  in  a  second- 
hand dirty  cask.  Unless  you  learn  to  do  better  than 
this  you  will  always  run  the  bee  business  at  a  los>, 
and,  in  fact,  had  better  not  touch  it  at  all. 

In  using  barrels,  see  that  the  hoops  are  driven  on 
firmly  before  the  honey  is  put  into  them,  and,  after  fill- 
ing,   thoroughly    examine,    and,    if    necessary,    recooper 


AIKIN'S   PAPER    BAGS   FOR   CANDIED    H()Ni:V. 


again;  but  don't  soak  a  barrel  with  water  to  make  it 
tight.  Never  attempt  to  ship  a  leaky  barrel,  hoping  that 
the  joints  of  the  wood  will  swell  in  time  and  the  honey 
stop  leaking.  Water  and  many  other  liquids  may  have 
this  effect,  but  honey  never  causes  a  stave  to  expand. 
Jn  fact,  on  account  of  its  weight  and  peculiar  con- 
sistency it  will  find  a  leak  where  hardly  anything 
else  can.     Coating  the  inside  of  the  barrels  with  par- 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    27 

affine  or  wax  will  help  matters  greatly.  Some  use 
second-hand  alcohol-barrels.  These  are  usually  well 
made,  and  contain  a  coating  of  some  sort  which  pre- 
vents leakage.  If  one  head  be  taken  out,  and  they  be 
thoroughly  cleaned,  they  will  answer  the  purpose  well 
enough. 

Fill  each  barrel  to  within  about  an  inch  of  the  bung- 
hole.  Wrap  the  bung  with  burlap  and  drive  it  in  as 
far  as  it  will  go  without  splitting  the  stave.     If  any  of 


Case  with  two  5-ganon  cans. 

it  projects  above,  shave  it  off,  so  as  to  bring  it  level  with 
the  stave.  When  this  is  done,  tack  a  strip  of  tin  nearly 
over  it  ;^  also  put  a  few  tacks  around  the  hoops  to  pre- 
vent them  from  falling  off,  and  your  barrel  of  honey 
is  ready  for  shipment. 

In  some  localities  (such  as  California  for  instance) 
the  climate  is  so  warm  and  dry  that  it  is  next  to  im- 
possible to  make  barrels  work  with  any  degree  of  sat- 
isfaction.    In    such    places   the   sixty-pound   square   can 


28    HOJV  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY. 

should  be  used.  These  are  shipped  generally  two  in  a 
case.  It  is  well  to  fill  them  nearly  full  and  press  against 
the  sides  in  such  a  manner  that  the  air  is  excluded  and 
the  honey  comes  up  flush  with  the  top  of  the  holes. 
Then  put  on  the  corks  and  screw  down  the  caps  very 
firmly.  This  has  a  tendency  to  prevent  bulging  on  the 
part  of  the  tins.  Tins  are  somewhat  more  expensive 
than  barrels,  but  the  difference  in  price  is  offset  by  the 
non-leakage  of  the  former  and  the  extra  price  obtained 
for  the  honey  put  up  in  them. 

To  sum  up  briefly  the  subject  of  honey-packages: 
For  local  retail  of  liquid  honey,  use  glass  jars  or 
tumblers  nicely  labeled;  for  candied  honey,  use  the 
Aikin  paper  bag;  for  dark  honey  sold  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes,  use  good  barrels  (where  locality  permits 
their  use),  and  for  the  best  grades  use  square  cans. 


RENDERING  WAX  AND  HONEY  WITH  THE 
ROOT-GERMAN  WAX-PRESS. 

In  some  parts  of  the  world — as,  for  instance,  in 
Scotland  and  Germany — certain  kinds  of  honey  are  so 
thick  that  bee-keepers  waive  the  question  of  extract- 
ing, and  squeeze  it  out  of  the  combs  with  a  press.  We 
advise  none  of  our  readers  to  do  this,  but  simply  quote 
this  to  show  that  the  squeezing  of  honey  out  of  pieces 
of  broken  comb  and  half-drained  cappings  is  practical. 
A  wax-press  of  some  sort  is  an  absolute  necessity  in 
an  apiary.  Now,  when  cappings  and  broken  pieces  of 
dry  comb  are  to  be  rendered,  the  solar  wax-extractor 
is  all  right;  but  when  bits  of  comb  with  honey  are  put 
into  them,  the  market  quality  of  the  latter  is  destroyed. 
The  Root-German  wax-press  takes  away  the  difficulty. 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  EXTRACTED  HONEY.    29 


The^Root  German  Steam  Wax-Press, 

Place  the  combs  or  cappings  in  the  basket,  and  squeeze 
out  all  the  honey  without  the  application  of  heat  in  any 
form,  then  melt  the  remainder  of  wax  by  generating 
steam  in  the  compartment  beneath. 

Full  directions  for  using  are  supplied  with  each  ma- 
chine ;  and  if  these  be  carefully  followed,  it  ought  to  pay 
for  itself  easily  by  rendering  into  wax  such  refuse  as 
would  go  to  waste  when  other  forms  of  wax-extractors 
are  used. 


THE  A.  I.  ROOT  CO..  Medina,  O. 


April,    1904. 


^!.  ■^    -•^    -c^    -:^    -^    --<?■    <$^    <^    <^    -^    <v>    <^/-    -J^/-    ^    -^    -<??-    -■4'/-    l^i 

A  A  Journal  Devoted  to  Bees, 

Honey,  and  Home  interests 


4 


VOL.  XXXII.  JAN.   I,   1904.  No. 


Published  by 

The  A.  I.  Root  Company, 

Medina,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A. 


4  ^,j;:&^^Ts.''''^'^2^^j^^^i^^^si?'?  FER.rEAfu  4;, 


"^  Thirtj'-secoud  Volume.  vSenii-monthly.  v 

*^  One   Dollar  per  Year.  ^^ 

Foreign  Postage  48  cents  per  Year. 

Sample  Copy  Free.  v 


Special   Offer.  f 


■A  Gleanings  for  one   vear   and  the     CO    AA  k* 

A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture .pwi,.  W 

4        ^___^___^__^^^^___^^__  '^^ 

4  ¥ 

4  Some  of    Its   Departments.  ^* 

4  stray  Straws— Z)r.  C.  C.  Miller.  ¥ 

^  Pickings  from  Neighbors'  Fields — Stenog.        .^  4(, 

Notes  of  Travel—^.  /.  Root.  ^ 

4  Editorial— ^. /?.  y?D0/.  1=* 

^  Conversations  With  Doolittle—  G.  M.  Doolittle. 

General  Correspondence. 


4  ¥ 


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4  ^* 

^^  THE  ADVANTAGES   OF  BUYING  4,^ 

4  ROOT'S  BEE-KEEPERS'  ^! 

4                     SUPPLIES. ^^^ 

4                =— : -  ^^ 

4  Quality — The^- are  well  made  from  good  ^* 

♦^  material.     You  are  never  disappointed  ^* 

^  and    disgusted  by  receiving  goods    in-  ^ 

4  accurately  cut,  and  roughly  made,  from  "^^^ 

♦^  inferior  stock.  45. 

4  Interchangeableness— This  ac-  ^. 

A  curacy  with  whichgoodsaremadeallows  a 

'  a  customer  to  order  goods    3'ear    after  ^ 

4  year,  and  each  lot  will  fit  the  others  as  ^^ 

A  new    parts    fit    in    repairing    an    Elgin  4. 

^  watch.  ^' 

[  Promptness— "^^'ith  our    immense  ^" 

4  manufacturing  facilities,  the  adoption  '^* 

*^  of  standard  goods,    and  the   establish- 

^^  ment    of    agencies    and    branch  houses  ^ 

4  throughout    the    various    parts    of    the  "^^ 

^  country',  we  can  get  goods  to  you   wdth 

,  wonderful  promptness. 

-k  -  ^- 

^,  Cost — No  goods  of  like  quality  are  sold  , 

at  lower  prices  than  we  sell  them,  while  ^ 

*Ij^  the  shipping  of  them  in  car  lots  to  the  ^- 

^^  branch  houses  a.nd  agencies  allows  the  ^^ 

^  customer  to  get  them  at  factory  prices  ^ 

*^  within  a    short   distance    of  his    home.  ^"" 

^^  Send  for  a  catalog,  and  list  of  dealers, 
and  save  freight  and  time  by  ordering 

4  from  your  nearest  dealer. 


THE  A.  I.  ROOT  CO., 

MEDINA,  OHIO. 


T 


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HONEY  LABELS 

and  Rubber  Stamps 


Clover     ^ 


HONEY 


^*~N^  APIARY  OF  t^W^ 

S.  S.  PIERCE, 


SEND    FOR    FREE    SAMPLE    BOOK  WITH  PRICES 

THE  A.  L  ROOT  COMPANY 
Medina,  Ohio,  U.    S.   A. 


■^  #^  s^  4' 2^  1  tf^  c^c    All  of  our   catalogs    con-  ^ 

J  VxXiaXOgS        tain  much  valuable    in-  L 

-y]  formation  for  beginners,    under  the    respective  ^ 

,^  subjects.      We  will  be  pleased  to  mail  free  any  y 

-^  of  the  following  catalogs.  ^ 

.^  Bee-keepers'  Supplies.    I   Queens  and  Bees.  ^ 

^  Facts  About  Bees.  Rubber  Stamps.  I*- 

^  Honey  Isabels,  |   Books  for  Bee-keepers  K. 


